Every year, the world loses out on a group of celebrities that succumbed to death in one form or another. It's inevitable for us all, but at least for these celebrities, they entertained us in some way while they were still alive. Over a one year period, there are too many too write about them all in one blog, so instead, I give you 10 celebrities that probably had the biggest impacts on me while they were still alive. Rest in peace...
2. Ernie Banks (1/31/31-1/23/15) 83 years old: Known as Mr. Cub, Banks is perhaps the most famous player to play for the famed Chicago Cubs. The Hall of Famer was once quoted as saying, "We've got the setting, sunshine, fresh air, the team behind us. So let's play two!" which became one of the most iconic quotes in baseball history. He was a two-time MVP who hit over 500 homers, and had over 2,500 hits. Some argue that he might be the best shortstop of all time, but he played more games at first base. He was the very first Cubs player to have his number retired and a statue stands in front of him stands in front of Wrigley Field. Banks died from a heart attack at a Chicago area hospital.
3. Leonard Nimoy (3/26/31-2/2715) 83 years old: Known for his iconic role as Mr. Spock in the Star Trek TV shows and movies, Nimoy's role is arguably one of the most famous in sci-fi history. As Spock, he was nominated for three Emmy's before moving on to another hit show, Mission Impossible. He also made appearances on other hits such as Dragnet, Perry Mason, The Twilight Zone, Wagon Train, Bonanza, Combat!, The Outer Limits and Get Smart before locking down the role of Spock. Nimoy also tried his hand in photography, music, writing, and directing movies including two of the Star Trek movies and Three Men and a Baby. Nimoy passed away in his home from complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease due to his years of smoking.
4. Grace Lee Whitney (4/1/30-5/1/15) 85 years old: Most famous for her role as Janice Rand in the original Star Trek series and films, Whitney only appeared on eight episodes during the first season before reprising her role in the films. She made many more appearances on other popular TV shows including Mannix, Batman, Bewitched, The Outer Limits, 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, and Gunsmoke. Whitney also was a singer who opened up at Chicago nightclubs for Billie Holiday and Buddy Rich. She died of natural causes at her home in California.
5. BB King (9/16/25-5/14/15) 89 years old: Ranked as the sixth greatest guitar player in the world by Rolling Stone, King has perhaps the greatest career of any blues artist in history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and is nicknamed "The King of Blues". King began his recording career in 1949 and performed up to the year of his death in 2015. During his career, BB won 15 Grammy Awards and was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom. His song "The Thrill is Gone" is considered by many the greatest blues song ever written and performed. In the 90's, he opened up the BB King Blues Clubs of which two are still open, with two more scheduled to open up soon. His guitar is also one of the most famous in history, nicknaming the Gibson ES-355's he prefers to use "Lucille". Unfortunately, at the end of King's life, he battled diabetes and would have to perform while sitting down on a stool. He eventually passed away while sleeping from multi-infarct dementia brought on by a series of small strokes caused by atherosclerotic vascular disease as a consequence of his diabetes.
6. Yvonne Craig (5/16/37-8/17/15) 78 years old: Craig began her career as a dancer before finding herself in television and movie roles. Finding herself in small roles in the movie version of Gidget, she would go on to play the love interest in two Elvis Presley movies (It Happened at the World's Fair and Kissin' Cousins) as well as finding herself appearing in various hit TV shows such as The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Wild Wild West, and McHale's Navy. It was then when she was cast in her most famous role as Batgirl in the Batman TV show alongside Adam West and Burt Ward. Not long afterward, she would also be cast in her second most famous role in Star Trek as Marta, the green skinned Orion slave girl. Craig would go on to more appearances in hit shows such as Starsky and Hutch, Fantasy Island, The Six Million Dollar Man, Kojak, and Love, American Style. She died at her home from metastatic breast cancer that spread to her liver.
7. Yogi Berra (5/12/25-9/22/15) 90 years old: Yogi Berra is considered one of the greatest catchers in Major League Baseball history, but despite this, he is almost as well known for his quotes to the press that would be known as "Yogi-isms". Some of them include, "It ain't over till it's over,", "The future ain't what it used to be,", "Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical,", "I really didn't say everything I said." Berra is one of only five players in history to have won the AL MVP three times and was a first ballot hall of famer in 1972. He was also one of only seven managers in history to lead an AL and NL team to the World Series. Yogi was an 18 time all-star who had his number 8 retired by the Yankees. He also holds the record for most World Series rings with 10 as a player and 3 more as a coach. He passed away from natural causes on the 69th anniversary of his debut game with the Yankees.
8. Maureen O'Hara (8/17/20-10/24/15) 95 years old: The fire-redheaded starlet was one of the biggest names in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Perhaps most famously known for her role as Doris Walker in Miracle on 34th Street, a Christmas favorite that is aired every December on a television near you, she had also starred in other hits. She had starred in Sinbad the Sailor with Morgan Fairbanks, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, How Green Was My Valley, and The Black Swan over her career as well. Acting during the rise of color films, she was dubbed "The Queen of Technicolor". She passed away in her sleep at her Boise, Idaho home.
9. George Barris (11/20/25-11/5/15) 89 years old: Not a name that some people may recognize, but Barris was one of the masters at creating iconic cars for television and movie shows. His two most notable creations were the Batmobile from the Batman '66 television show and the Munster Koach of The Munsters. During his time working on customized automobiles, he had also designed or customized other cars such as the Clampetts's truck from Beverly Hillbillies, the General Lee from Dukes of Hazzard, KITT from Knight Rider, and the tour vehicles in Jurassic Park. At the age of 89, Barris passed away in his sleep.
10. Scott Weiland (10/27/67-12/3/15) 48 years old: Lead singer to Stone Temple Pilots and later Velvet Revolver, Weiland battled through drug addiction while establishing himself as one of the greatest rock stars of the '90s and 2000's. With the initial release of Core in 1992 with Stone Temple Pilots, the band released a ton of hits including Plush, Creep, Big Empty, Vasoline, Interstate Love Song, Big Bang Baby, Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart, Lady Picture Show, Down, and Sour Girl which would be enough for a band to land in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Weiland then moved on to join members of Guns N' Roses to form Velvet Revolver and produced hits such as Slither, Fall to Pieces, and She Builds Quick Machines. Found dead on his tour bus with his current group, The Wildabouts, it was later determined that despite his claims to have recovered from previous drug and alcohol addictions, his death was caused by a lethal mixture of cocaine, ethanol, and Methylenedioxyamphetamine.
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